State compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes is a crucial aspect of the Australian political economy, yet has remained a source of controversy and debate. This collection of fifteen essays brings a fresh approach to issues surrounding the introduction of arbitration, examining the major constituent elements of the Australian system, the source of its ideas, the key protagonists in the system's introduction, and the effects of compulsory arbitration on industrial relations, management control, and trade unions.
Stuart Macintyre was Emeritus Laureate Professor of the University of Melbourne and a Professorial Fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. He was president of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia from 2007 to 2009 and a life member of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. With Alison Bashford, he edited the Cambridge History of Australia (2013). His last book, published posthumously, is The Party: The Communist Party of Australia from heyday to reckoning (2022), the second volume in his history of the Communist Party of Australia.